Hawaiian Air's Maui-bound flight returns to Seattle

A Hawaiian Airlines flight en route to Maui abruptly returned to Seattle today because of a malfunctioning hydraulic system.

Hawaiian flight 29, with 203 passengers on board, had a “low quantity indication from one of (three) hydraulic systems,” said airline spokesman Keoni Wagner. The flight departed at 10:10 a.m. Seattle time and was set to arrive in Maui at 1:15 p.m.

“Back on the ground they changed a pump,” Wagner said, adding that passengers reboarded about half an hour ago. The new estimated arrival time on Maui is 9 p.m.

“It’s not that unusual, but I wouldn’t say it’s common,” Wagner said of flights having to return to the departure city. “If there’s ever any indication of a potential problem, we’ll turn flights around and we’ll always err on the side of safety.”

Hawaiian issued a $100 travel credit to all passengers “as a gesture of regret for the delay,” he added.